


Building something new

by ReireiKing



Category: One Piece
Genre: Flashbacks, Memory Related, Resentment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 10:37:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13856046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReireiKing/pseuds/ReireiKing
Summary: Sometimes letting go isn't as easy as people make it seem.





	Building something new

**Author's Note:**

> I love this pairing so much...but this is my first time writing for it...  
> I....just hope people enjoy it.

It was when Ace first saw him that he knew there would be trouble.  
_'Of all things it had to be this...'_ Ace thought, eyes forward trying to keep focus on the man standing in front of him. He had some idea of the crew of course, you have to have a decent amount of information about the enemies you plan to create but up close was...a lot worse.  


"Distracted are we?" The booming voice snapped him out of his thoughts, a second later the hit to his ribs which sent him flying fully knocked him out of them. Ace only managed a stiffed groan before landing in the water.

\- - -

Ace sat sulking on the Moby Dick, keeping an eye on the man who always lingered around him. He knew it was a foolish thought but it kept nagging at him. He sighed, rubbing his fingers through his hair. He tried to maintain his concentration but could feel the tiredness taking over, feeling his eyes start to close he looked back one last time, this time no one was near. 

"So what, you're babysitting him?"  


"Pops asked me to keep an eye on him, yoi."  


Ace awoke with a start, having must of only dozed off. The voices were close by and he steadied his breath, pretending to still be asleep. He could swear he heard something like a groan under more mumbles.  


"And here I figure your patience would run out by now. You've noticed how he looks at you haven't you?" The man talking had to of been someone he hasn't seen yet.  


"Yes Izo, I have noticed, thank you for being so concerned." There was a click of...something, maybe a tool? Ace fought against himself for wanting to look.  


"It's not only concern I'll have you know, there's something wrong with him, the intensity is too mu-" But the voice was cut off.  


"If you are just going to go on a tangent, then let's at least let him _'sleep'_ , yoi." There was a slight shuffle noise as they walked away. Ace shifted then, hoping to catch a glimpse of who the other man was. When he saw they were gone he decided to leave it be and went back to getting some sleep. 

\- - -

One week later was just another week of failure. It's not like Ace to become so dejected about his own skills but he was starting to have doubts. "Hey! Aren't you hungry?" A voice called out, making Ace jump slightly. He turned quickly, facing whoever was coming near. The smell of food was wafting in the air making his stomach growl.

"No." Ace replied, turning before the man could come any closer. He heard a laugh and the platter being placed on the ground. 

"Well, alright I'll just eat instead then." Ace tried to walk away but the smell was so inciting. His body was urging him to eat and after another loud growl of protest from his stomach he gave in, turning and faced the man who was now sitting a few feet from Ace. "Aha! See, I knew you would be. I was only kidding about eating your food by the way, well mostly kidding." The man held a small bun in his hand eyeing Ace with interest. He was very obviously comfortable in his own skills or didn't consider Ace a threat, which irked him. 

"Why are you just sitting here?" Ace questioned. The man raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Why not?" He said back, taking a bite of the bun he held. He pushed the platter a bit forward, motioning for Ace to come sit. "Like I said, brought you food." Ace was hesitant, but slowly moved forward and then sat down and started eating with vigor. "Wow! You really can eat huh?" The man sitting in front of him laughed. Ace hit his chest a few times to help the food get down, then gave a look of disgust to the man. "I'm Thatch, by the way." Ace looked back down to his food. "I figure since you're going to become a crew mate, you might as well know my name." Ace threw down the piece of meat he was holding glaring at the man, his appetite vanishing. 

"Why aren't you restraining me? I'm fighting your captain and you all do nothing about it, even giving me food." Ace was still glaring at him but Thatch merely smirked and stood up. 

"You'll realize sooner or later, I suppose." Thatch wiped his pants, brushing off invisible crumbs and waved before turning to walk away. "Leave that anywhere and someone will pick it up!" He turned the corner leaving Ace in his thoughts. "Oh!" He reappeared, his head sticking out of the alleyway. "The man you keep staring at, that's Marco." Thatch smiled and vanished, running down the alleyway before Ace heard something eerily similar to a sound of someone splashing into water. 

\- - -

His frustrations grew with all the failed attempts and it showed in battle. Today's was such a waste that Ace ventured into the open air of the main deck. It was late evening and there wasn't very many people around but he would often stay in a more hidden area. He sat next to the railings, looking across the deck to the storm on the horizon. 

"You finally given up, yoi?" Ace knew without looking that it was that man. It annoyed him even more, that he just _knew_.

"So you really are a baby sitter." The man, Marco, gave an amused smile Ace's way. He jumped from wherever he seemed to come from and walked closer to Ace. 

"You could say that." He knelt down next to Ace his smile leaving, replaced by a rather intense look. "Have you given any thought on our offer?" 

Ace looked past him, towards the sea on the other side. "Why do you all call him that? Pops." A wave splashed against the top of the hull, a light mist kicking up in the air. 

"Because the world hates us, but he calls us sons. He gives us a family and even if it's just a word it means something to us." There was no hesitation in his answer, which stirred something inside of Ace. "It's your decision, to leave and start over or to get our mark." There was another wave, this time much higher then before. "To become part of our family." Ace glanced at Marco then, his weariness forcing him to shift and wrap his arms around himself.

"I hate you." Ace was tired, too tired to stop the words from coming out of his mouth. "You remind me so much of him." Marco blinked but didn't move.

"Of who?"

Ace sighed, looking at the deck instead of Marco. "My..." His voice went quiet "Brother." Ace brushed his eyes, no tears were there but they felt heavy, he needed to move. "...and here you are now telling me to join your family." He couldn't help himself, these feelings had been bottled up for eight years now.  
"I arrive and the first thing I see is some-" He waved his hands in front of him now, still not facing him. Somewhere deep down, he was probably ashamed of how he is acting now. "Blonde guy!" A stiffed laugh is heard, Ace ignores it. "And you stand so proud, so full of arrogance." Ace pushes himself off the floor now, pacing slightly. "You obviously hold power, of course you would." He's still pacing, now his feet are scuffing the boards. "Not only that, but you're silent! You see everything!" Ace could feel tears making their way to break through his facade. "You knew I wasn't sleeping then, but you just left. You see me fight him, but you do nothing because you.....!" Ace pauses to look towards Marco, who is still sitting on the floor looking up at him, his face not giving anything away. Ace felt ashamed, he had to bit the inside of his mouth to stop from letting the tears spill over. 

"Because I? Don't let me stop you, yoi." Ace flushed, kicking the railing and turning away. 

"Never mind." Ace sighs, he knew he was being a child. He's taking the words everyone had said against him, against Sabo, out on Marco and he knew it wasn't fair. 

"Ace?" Ace turned back, Marco was now standing up but didn't move forward to confront him. "Don't feel as if you have to continue, yoi." Marco heaved a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Just, remember what I said. Join or don't but make the decision soon." Marco turned to walk away. "....and don't let something like your past hold onto you, yoi." Ace clenched his fists. 

"You don't have to tell me that." His voice was barely a whisper as he watched Marco walk away.

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching the flashback episodes and I thought, "What if when Ace first saw Marco, he thought he resembles Sabo?" and made myself sad, then I wrote this.  
> In the story:  
> \- I love Izo but I'm sad there isn't much with him. I assume he see's something about Ace's viciousness and worries for Marco, as he seems to be someone Ace is interested in. (I figure Izo as being keenly observant)
> 
> -Yes, Marco did in fact grab Thatch and throw him overboard. I figure Marco was around the area and had overheard the conversation but didn't want to interrupt because Ace needed the energy from the food and seemed to be tense around him. 
> 
> -When I mentioned how Ace remembered the words against him/Sabo I meant the fact that Bluejam had said how because Sabo is a noble (ie: arrogant, selfish ect...) that he would not care about Ace and Luffy and was using them, which is why Ace trailed off because he couldn't _actually_ confirm Marco would act that way and then felt bad for turning his thoughts into the one's he fought against before. 
> 
> -I'm very nervous I messed up the lines Marco said to Ace when explaining about his crew, but I wanted to not make them exactly the same either... I made this in hopes to expand a bit on how I think they may have interacted, if Ace felt this way so I changed a few things up.
> 
> -This is completely not edited. I made it very late at night because I finally found some courage to write again. If there's any outstanding mistakes, please let me know. 
> 
> (((( Someone I shared this with asked me about the waves scene when Marco and Ace were talking so I'll just add that in here as well. ))))  
> \- You mentioned the wave crash  
> = Yes  
> \- What does that signify?  
> \- Impact?  
> = Aces emotions  
> = Hes withheld his anger over Sabo for so long. Even in the flashbacks, hes happy because he doesn't want Luffy to worry, you can tell by the way he wants to thank Shanks and how he went somewhere alone to cry.  
> = But as an adult he still feels like he doesn't deserve to live and the only friend he had, Sabo, was the one who would reassure him that he deserves to and that family isn't what makes you, you create your own.  
> = So when Marco mentions to Ace to not let his past hold onto him, Ace breaks down. I know it isn't timed super well, but I didn't want to indulge in something so late in the fic.
> 
> I'm always looking for people to share ideas with and eventually, an editor. If you would like to contact me, I have discord. Addy#3649


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